Copywriting – dont give the whole story

Copywriting – dont give the whole story

He wanted to create response. You won’t believe what he did next…

Copywriting used to be 90% print and 20% broadcast (and analytics was best left to the account team). Then the web came along, and changed everything. Copy has become content, broadcast has become tool for building luxury brands – and if marketing is not 100% digital yet, it’s not far short.

But one thing has not changed. We are still ultimately aiming at getting response. We used to have to create it by using coupons and telephone numbers. Now that response – to an email, tweet, banner or webpage – is a click. Trouble is, there are now so many opportunities to respond, getting the customer to click on your link is as hard as ever.

But the funny thing is, what we need to create the response may not have changed that much.

So here’s the first thought about the new copywriting. Headlines still count. They attract attention and help people to read your sales message. As the headline to this blog shows, they don’t have to be the sales message – but they do have to be geared to the interests of the target readers. The more you know about their hopes and fears and interests, the harder your headlines can work. In the past, the effectiveness of headlines could only be measured by overall response. These days, we can see what works.

It includes:

Numbers (especially amounts of money)

I made £10 000

Instructions – how to… etc

How I made £10 000

Benefits – why you need to read more

How you can make £10 000

Drama – the unexpected, the near unbelievable

How you can make £10 000 this weekend

Questions – who, what, where, when, why, and how

Want to see how you can make £10 000 this weekend?

Emotions – tap into the readers hope and fears

Want to see how you can make £10 000 this weekend – and secure yourfinancial future?

You want to entice people to read on – so don’t give them the whole story in the headline. Don’t make it too long. You don’t need all those winning tricks in one headline. You may not need sixteen words. Six can be enough.

Of course, it is never quite that simple. Not every target group will respond in the same way. Some will appreciate brash headlines. Others will be attracted to a more measured approach. A good headline can preselect your enquirers. A more measured approach may be more in keeping with the brand image you have painstakingly built.

Here’s another thing that hasn’t changed. All communications need a call to action. So discover more about the newcopywritingby returning to this blog. Or to find out more about what the new copywriting can do for you, contact us.